1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to organo-modified inorganic particles, and in particular to organo-modified inorganic particles reactive to biodegradable materials, and a biodegradable hybrid material containing the particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current environmental concerns increasingly demand use of environmentally friendly materials such as those implementing biodegradable constituents.
A polymer, plant fiber or inorganic clay is conventionally added to biodegradable materials to enhance thermal stability and mechanical properties thereof, such that the scope of application for the biodegradable material is expanded, such as in fabrication of electronic and photoelectric devices. Irrespective of whether organic or inorganic additives are used, physical properties of the biodegradable material are improved by increasing compatibility of interfaces between the biodegradable material and the additives.
One popular inorganic additive in biodegradable material is clay. A conventional modifier separates the layered structure of clay to make it compatible with organic material. There is no strong bonding in the organic-inorganic interfaces between the conventional modifier and clay. In addition, because of limitations of molecule structure of the biodegradable material, it is difficult to modify or crosslink. The biodegradable material with higher molecule weight requires a longer reaction time. For example, poly lactic acid (PLA) is formed by first forming cyclic lactic acid molecules, followed by polymerization of the cyclic lactic acid molecules by a ring opening polymerization to achieve a high molecule weight of PLA.
Therefore, the invention provides a reactive organo-modified inorganic particle compatible with the biodegradable material to overcome the above problems.